Index Astartes: Sanguinary Phalanx

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Index Astartes: Sanguinary Phalanx

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A Space Marine Chapter known for their exemplary record and along list of victories, the Sanguinary Phalanx are also known for leaving utter devastation in their wake, the enemies of the Imperium left in tatters and the mission objectives achieved. Despite this, many of their brother Chapters, such as the Death Spectres, refuse to fight alongside them as it always seems that their closest allies and those that fight with them at the very forefront of their battles wind up missing or dead. Never has a sanction been called against them, nor have they failed in their duties to recover and return the geneseed of the fallen battle brothers to the Chapters from which they came, but dark suspicions and rumors are never far away when the Sanguinary Phalanx are mentioned.

Battle Brother From the 2nd Company

Companion Terminator

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he Sanguinary Phalanx Chapter is a 22nd Founding Chapter initially named the Emperor’s Angels and was created as a second attempt to eliminate the suspected “Flaw” within the geneseed of the Blood Angels. Following the seemingly successful experiment with the Lamenters, the Adeptus Terra sanctioned the use of Blood Angels geneseed once more, though with a variation from that used with the Lamenters. Veterans from the Blood Angels and their successors were recommended to fill the leadership roles within the fledgling chapter. Unlike many other chapters, the Emperor’s Angels was not created in its entirety at its inception. With the possible flaw in an otherwise superior Blood Angels genetic stock, the decision was made to create an initial four battle companies, with the remainder of the chapter to be recruited, trained and deployed by the Emperor’s Angels leadership provided they were successful.

Twenty veterans of the Blood Angels and their successors were selected to form the Council and oversee the creation of the new chapter. Captain Japheth of the Lamenters was accorded the honor of becoming the first Chapter Master of the Emperor's Angels. As captain of the 3rd Company, he had distinguished himself in the fight against the Fra'al empire and was considered by many to have been a better successor to the Lamenters than their 1st Company commander. An efficient and calculating individual, his surgical strikes were the basis for a revision of the Lamenters' tacticae on assault. It fell to Epistolary Mareus of the Blood Angels to become the Chief Librarian while Sanguinary High Priest Aeolus of the Angels Encarmine was named “Custodian of the Grail” and Master of Sanctity Bhaalus Ares of the Flesh Tearers became the Head Chaplain and the “Voice of Truth.” The four companies were broken down into three battle companies and a single company of reserves along the guidance set by the Codex Astartes. A fifth company was created and staffed only by the leadership and would be responsible for screening, selecting and developing the youths in what would eventually become the 10th Scout Company.

The recommissioned battle barge Angelus Ira, which had been almost destroyed in the defeat of WAAAGH! Medruk, was provided as the chapter headquarters as well as the strike cruiser Imperator Ulciscor and three rapid strike vessels of the Cobra class. In addition, a colony ship with hopeful settlers and prospectors was sent with the force as well as a small but powerful detachment of three vessels from the Adeptus Mechanicus, led by Magos Explorator Eris Kre’val and Genetor Asocryxis, their mission two-fold; continue the Quest for Knowledge in the unknown depths of space and to carefully monitor the progress and genetic stability of the Emperor’s Angels. Genetor Asocryxis would also be responsible for overseeing the expansion of the Emperor's Angels into a full Chapter before yielding complete control of the creation of new Space Marines to the Chapter Apothecarion. Composed thusly, the Emperor’s Angels were initially assigned to the eastern edge of the Ultima Segmentum where reports of Ork incursions were growing.

First Blood: The Liberation of Ajax IV [523.M37]

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uring their travel through the Immaterium to the Eastern Fringe, instability within the Gellar Field of one of the Cobra-class vessels forced an immediate reversion to realspace almost three quarters of the way to their destination. As the ships moved into the realm of reality the fleet found itself approaching a binary star pair, identified as Ajax, surrounded by eight planets with surveys showing that three of them were inhabited and colonized by the Imperium and with a space dock that could accommodate a capital warship.

What they found instead, was a system devastated by warfare. An Ork Waaagh! had evidently struck thousands of years prior and then been stranded by the last ditch efforts of the defenders, both sides suffering horrendous losses; the humans nearly wiped out and the invading Orks eradicated, only to be replaced by feral Orks spawned from their spores that had infested the planet. Nine human city-states were all that remained of the once planet-spanning society and these were reduced to largely bronze-age technology, for the Waaagh! had destroyed the vast majority of the infrastructure. The regimented militaries of the city-states, however, were fighting a losing war as more and more Orks attacked each year. Weak signals, barely strong enough to make it out of the atmosphere, requested aid in a ceaselessly repeating cry for assistance.

Seeing the opportunity to not only restore the Imperium to the system, but to also give his new charges invaluable combat experience, Chapter Master Japheth ordered the immediate deployment of all forces to defeat the greenskins. The feral Orks were no match for the Emperor’s Angels and it would take but a few days of intense fighting to eliminate the Ork leaders and shatter the largest warbands. In what would later be described as “a manifestation of the Emperor’s wrath,” the Emperor’s Angels systematically annihilated every trace of the Orks upon Ajax IV. The cleansing of the planet would take much longer, but in the shattered remains of a once-prosperous system, the Emperor’s Angels would establish their homeworld.

Ajax IV

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Homeworld

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jax IV is the fourth planet orbiting the twin stars Ajax Prime and Ajax Secundus, named by the earlier explorators for the ancient Greek heroes Ajax of Telamon and Ajax of Oileus. It is a planet rich in soil and valuable metals and operates at a huge profit as the vast fields of grain allow the planet to produce more than twenty times the amount of food required for the entire Ajax system. Sixty percent of the western hemisphere is covered by a vast sea, rich in life, the other forty percent covered in more arching plains while mines cover the mountains that border the Aesorian Sea and extend almost to the poles on each end. To the east lay the volcanic ranges of the Oros Thanasimos where the fortress monastery of the Sanguinary Phalanx can be found.

Within the deep forests, tribes of feral Orks still roam, never quite fully expunged, but they are a minor threat to the people as the planetary defense force patrol the outskirts and the scout Marines of the Sanguinary Phalanx frequently test their mettle against the deadly and cunning greenskins. Every now and then, in the deeper forests, an Ork boss or chieftain will manage to raise a full grown squiggoth and cause a minor disruption, usually successfully raiding a town or two, but then is quickly destroyed by rapid response teams.

In space, the once defunct space docks have been refitted and expanded, capable of sustaining the entire chapter fleet of the Phalanx. Shortly after its re-commissioning, the docks laid the keel to a new Space Marine battle barge and two strike cruisers. Since then, one additional battle barge and three more cruisers have been constructed, expanding the fleet as the chapter has expanded as well. The Adeptus Mechanicus utilize a retrofitted orbital defense platform as their primary base of operations from which the small, but growing, exploratory fleet sets out on forays into the surrounding star systems, charting the unknown portions of the segmentum that surround the Ajax system.

The settlements on Ajax V and Ajax VII have also been re-established, both mining communities and factories that funnel their finished products to Ajax IV for export to the rest of the Imperium.

SELECTED BATTLE HONORS

The Cleansing of Dariuzyn [874.M37-895.M37]

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otable as being the first time that the Emperor's Angels would fight as a Chapter at full strength, it would also mark the last time that they would conduct a Chapter-strength action under that name.

The chapter was committed in strength to support the Seventh Suppression Force under command of Lord General Donalvan Badalis as Imperial forces sought to regain control of the war-torn Dariuzyn, Corona and Losinio sub-sectors. These regions were difficult to suppress because there was no central cause, but a series of independent internecine conflicts, secessions and outright revolts that engulfed the three sub-sectors in a blaze of violence. The Emperor's Angels were sent to Ince, a vital promethium-producing system, to break the deadlock between Loyalist forces and a secessionist group that had managed to turn three of the five major terminal cities away from the Imperium and gain control of the two largest fuel distribution terminals. In a series of punishing raids, the Chapter annihilated the secessionist forces, sweeping them from the first two cities in a bloody massacre that left nothing of the rebel forces in it's wake. A message of capitulation was received seventeen minutes before the attack began on the third rebel-held city, but no record of such a message was ever found in the data repositories of the Emperor's Angels. When Imperial Guard regiments, supported by the beleaguered PDF forces arrived at the gates to the third city, nothing stirred and blood flowed through the streets, swirling into the gutters. The terminals were fully operational, but of the Space Marines, there was no sign.

Stories of the Slaughter at Ince swept through all three subsectors and many of the rebellions and secessions died as soon as the news arrived that the Adeptus Astartes had gotten involved. The picts of three completely empty cities, each housing tens of thousands of people, were incomprehensible to most and earning censure from the Adepta Sororitas detachment that accompanied the Suppression Force. That censure would grow stronger as the Emperor's Angels continued their brutally effective brand of warfare, often deploying right into the middle of the enemy's command echelon and shattering it within minutes, followed by the complete eradication of any rebel forces. It was upon Dremoss V, capital of the Dariuzyn sub-sector and the site of the largest civil war, that Canoness Estrella of the Order of the Valorous Heart declared that she would seek an Inquisitorial investigation into the purity of the Chapter. The Adepta Sororitas and the Imperial Guard had established a buffer between the two factions and engineered a tenuous cease-fire, both sides zealously loyal to the Imperium. As leaders from both factions negotiated terms for a complete cessation of hostilities, a massive explosion destroyed both cadres and the senior Guard and Sororitas commanders. Taking action, the Emperor's Angels initiated an immediate combat drop and systematically annihilated the two opposing armies that occupied the fields. Even as Imperial commanders attempted to ascertain the situation, the Chapter rolled immediately into a second coordinated ground and orbital strike that simultaneously destroyed each of the military bases held by the Dremoss V opposing factions. Unfortunately, Canoness Estrella and the Imperial Guard regiments that had been on the surface were lost in the fighting.

The Eammon Decimation [971.M37-972.M37]

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eturning to Ajax IV at the outset of M37, High Judicator Japheth, aboard the strike cruiser Imperator Ulcisor received a planetary distress call from the Eammon system and diverted course to render assistance. An important trade world along one of the few safe warp routes through the heavily trafficked Bryza Sector, Eammon II and it's sister planets had fallen to the foul depredations of Dark Powers. A world rich with ritual and mysticism, it had only taken a single cardinal to corrupt the masses and effect a sudden and violent uprising that had seen most of the Administratum officials killed along with the Arbites and PDF that had not sucumbed to the temptations of Chaos. When the Emperor's Angels made planetfall, only two large Imperial Guard garrisons had managed to hold out against the swarming masses of cultist and daemon minions of the Fell powers. Even though he was outnumbered by a factor of a hundred, the chapter master ordered the assault against massive host that threatened to engulf one of the two remaining bases. By using his Thunderhawk and Stormraven gunships as mobile weapons platforms that could deliver and extract his forces to where they were needed most, he was able to establish a safe corridor for the emergency extraction of the Planetary Governor, his family and the surviving Guardsmen.

Even as the last Valkyrie departed, the governor's gunship was struck by a barrage of missiles that knocked the aircraft from the sky to crash into the throngs of depraved worshippers. What the Chaos lackeys assumed would be a quick salvage turned into the moment of greatest triumph for any individual within the Chapter, before or afterwards. With ten of his Sanguinary Guard and Venerable Pyros cradled in the rear clamps, Lord Judicator Japheth swore that the Governor would not die. Unleashing the dreadnought from the rear clamp, he and his guard exited the Stormraven's rear hatch while it executed a devastating strafing run to help clear a path to the downed Valkyrie. Catching the enemy by surprise, the Emperor's Angels extracted the living from the wreckage and directed Pyros to lead them to a remote auxiliary landing pad for extraction. The Chapter Master then took to the skies, disappearing into the smoke and haze and using the evading Governor and his escort as bait. With the librarian dreadnought using his sense of premonition and considerable pyrokinetic skills to keep the most threatening forces at bay, Japheth proceeded to wage a campaign of guerrilla warfare that would redefine the teachings of the Chapter's masters.

For a hundred twenty-seven hours, the Chapter Master and his charges conducted lightning raids into the pursuing warbands of cultists and traitors, punishing them with brutal assaults and then taking back to the skies, never re-attacking from the same direction. Raids upon the light armor columns with their Infernus Pistols provided them with ammunition supplies to sustain their fight until the survivors of the crash and Venerable Pyros made it to the auxiliary pad. The guardsmen set up what perimeter they could manage with Pyros anchoring the defense of the access ramp as Japheth and his Sanguinary Guard continued their hit and run tactics until their packs finally ran out of fuel and forced them to the ground. Signals from orbit indicated the imminent arrival of a gunship to extract them from the surface, but not before a massive throng of enemy forces would reach them. Clinging to his oath, Japheth and his remaining guard grabbed the powerlances of the governor's praetorians and readied themselves at the access ramp for a final stand, Pyros behind them for firepower.

When the Thunderhawks finally touched down on the pad, a ragged Governor and his retinue emerged from the mists around the pad, followed by a slow-moving figure in ornate power armor. As aides rushed to assist the Governor, Japheth dropped to one knee and uttered the simple phrase, "The Emperor Protects!" and finally succumbed to his wounds, his oath fulfilled.

It was as the Imperial Guard forces were completing their withdrawal from the system that the battle barge Angelus Ira translated into the system with more than four hundred Astartes aboard. In a purge that reeked with retribution, the Emperor's Angels laid waste to the planet and all upon it. Not a single life was spared amongst the population and the entire world was put to the torch as the Chapter vented its anger. The bodies and recordings of the fallen brothers were recovered as was the shell of Ancient Pyros, to be restored for future battle brothers; over 8,000 had died at the hands of the Chapter Master and his retinue. After reviewing the recordings, it would later be decided to honor the fallen with the formation they had used for their final stand, the Phalanx. After his induction and with the urging of the increasing number of battle brothers hailing from the Ajax system, the new High Judicator, Artaxes, petitioned the Adeptus Terra for a name change of the Chapter which was finally granted in 994.M37; the Emperor's Angels became known as the Sanguinary Phalanx.

The Redemption of Clois [654.M40-689.M40]

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n 641.M40, Cardinal Orastegon declared himself a Saint and denounced the Imperium as a "sickly child, pawing at the feet of a fetid corpse, lacking integrity, truth and guidance!" By 644.M40, his fiery rhetoric and position in the Ecclesiarchy had won him the ear of nearly half of his sector. By 648.M40, the entire Clois sector was on the verge of open rebellion against the Imperium, clamoring for reform, withholding tithes and embargoing goods. By 651.M40, the military had been won over and began to initiate hostilities against Imperial vessels, culminating in the destruction of the cruiser Divine Mandate and the seizing of her sister ship, the Imperatus Irae. Subsequent envoys and delegates were returned to their systems of origins in pieces as the sector declared its independence from the Imperium.

Selected for their thoroughness and exemplary battle record, the Sanguinary Phalanx was sanctioned by the High Lords of Terra, along with two other Chapters, to "...reinforce the example set by the Manus Irae. Enact upon the Clois Sector the full wrath of the God-Emperor and illuminate their heresy for all within the Imperium to see. By the flame of example, stoke the fires of Faith and Duty in the hearts of all Mankind." The specifics of the undertaking remain catalogued and sealed under the highest levels of classification within the vaults of Holy Terra, but what is known is the results and the names of the three Chapters tasked; the Sanguinary Phalanx, the Flesh Tearers and the Marines Malevolent. The spoils of the 35-year campaign are evidenced in the vessels that the fleets of the Marines Malevolent and the Sanguinary Phalanx have expanded to include and the silence of a entire sector bears testament to the thoroughness of the campaign. It is noteworthy that not a single Exterminatus decree was carried out, every planet in the sector put to the sword and scoured of life on a personal level. It is also of particular note that, following the Redemption of Clois, the Marines Malevolent unilaterally declared that they would refuse to fight alongside the Sanguinary Phalanx in any future undertakings.

Doctrine

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he Sanguinary Phalanx are akin to most Blood Angels successors in that they excel in close combat. However, unlike their progenitors, they are a Codex army and field no Death Company. A part of this is due to the paranoia of the chapter leadership that they may indeed become affected by the Black Rage. The result of this is a disproportionate number of Sanguinary Priests within the ranks and it is common to see a Sanguinary Priest leading a squad instead of the regular sergeant or veteran sergeant. As with their brethren, the Sanguinary Phalanx hit the enemy hard and like to maintain the pressure to enable their flanking units to sweep around and envelop the enemy. Commonly a tactical squad will serve as the fixing unit while veteran units or assault squads move around to assist by charging into the rear or flank.

While they eschew the use of long-range weaponry, they do realize that it is a tactical necessity and, as such, field such squads regularly with heavy weapons troopers rotating in and out of tactical squads so as not to inordinately punish battle brothers by withholding them from meeting the Emperor’s foes eye-to-eye. If possible, the chapter prefers to strike by use of combined drop pod and Thunderhawk or Stormraven gunships, engaging the enemy in a sudden and immediate flurry of close combat, not affording them the opportunity to reconsolidate.

”A force that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its strategy wrought by the meek and its battleplans executed by the foolish. Excellence in all aspects of battle. Mastery of our craft. That is the way of the Sanguinary Phalanx.”

- Executor Aaron, 10th Company - M37

They revere knowledge as well, placing their librarians among the most respected members of the chapter. Typically this is because of the awesome power that they wield, but Sanguinary Phalanx librarians also serve as loremasters and can be found amongst the people of Ajax IV, passing along the storied history of their people, the Sanguinary Phalanx and the Imperium. Even outside of the Librarius the brothers of the Phalanx are often praised by commanders for their grasp of all levels of warfare and have earned them commendation from such chapters as the Mentors and Ultramarines (in both cases, before relations were either strained or ceased to exist at all).

The Companion, as the 1st Company is known, is comprised of the Chapter’s veterans and are often found with power lances and combat shields in both an honor to their heritage and for the increased power offered by many of the weapons. They also use them in much of the same manner of the Grey Knights, effectively fighting enemies in close combat with a dazzling array of moves and weaponship. All members of the Chapter’s senior leadership must attain election to the Companion and serve in its ranks before even being considered for their postings. The preferred armor is power armor, equipped with a jump pack, the mobility it provides over terminator armor in keeping with the Chapter’s traditions of lightning strikes and flowing combat. While they do not frown upon the use of Tactical Dreadnought armor, it’s immobility is oft considered a hindrance, despite the stability and superior protection it provides. The sole member of the Phalanx constantly found in terminator armor is the Master of Sanctity and Bearer of His Word, bearing the armor of Bhaalus Ares, proclaiming the fealty of the chapter and focusing the spirits and minds of those about him.

Beliefs

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he battle brothers of the Phalanx consider believe themselves to be scions of Sanguinius first and sons of the Emperor second. To this end, they believe that they are the physical manifestation of the Angel's wrath, expressed by their zeal in combat; they are his determination to succeed as seen in their pursuit of knowledge and its application in the pursuit of perfection. This duality also causes great consternation and bears with it a deep humility amongst the brothers of the Chapter as they wage a war against themselves for their very identity. Their shame fuels their wrath as they execute their defense of the Imperium, for the plight of Captain Alastor represents all that they hate, their bodies betraying them in the grips of the gene-curse; there is no greater evil than betrayal in the eyes of the Saunguinary Phalanx.

As the Emperor had faith in his primarchs, so too, does the Phalanx have faith in the people of the Imperium, whom they have sworn to defend. Whether it is a product of their gene-seed or not, it is this faith in Humanity that also drives their wrath, for there is nothing that the Phalanx despises more than the traitor. They understand that for humanity to survive, it must be united and to that end, they show no mercy in their application of force to excise the cancer of traitors and heretics. It is this belief in the idea of a united Mankind that also fuels their hatred for Chaos in all of its forms, for they recognize the fractious nature of the Dark Powers and the threat that it poses to Humanity. It is because of this that the wake of destruction they leave behind them is accepted and their near-excess accepted, for it is well known that where there is the taint of Chaos or the stench of traitors, only devastation remains after the Phalanx passes.

Organization

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he Sanguinary Phalanx mostly follows the Codex Astartes in organization with only minor differences as far as actual organization is concerned. The veteran company is referred to as The Companion and the deeds of the its battle -brothers are the stuff of legend. Only the most experienced and brightest of the Phalanx are inducted into its ranks and it is from these individuals that the Honor Guards are drawn. The chapter’s relatively small number of Tactical Dreadnought suits are all worn by members of The Companion and the list of their individual accomplishments would each fill a large tome. When not found in the superior armor afforded them by the Terminator armor, the battle brothers of the companion can be found in beautifully wrought power armor, borne into the skies on jump packs. The lethal precision of the Blood Angels in airborne assaults is carried on in fine tradition by the brothers of the Phalanx, but none more so than the Companion. The chapter’s Second through Sixth companies make up the battle companies who conduct the majority of the combat operations for the chapter and comprise the largest part of any strike force. They may be complemented at any point from the Seventh through Ninth reserve companies, as well as the Tenth Scout company. The reserve companies are typically called upon to augment the fighting force of the battle companies, undertake smaller taskings that do not require the full attention of a large strike force or to replenish losses incurred from battle.

Executor Tornaeus

Eton Tornaeus is commander of the Sanguinary Phalanx's 3rd Company and is also accorded the honor of being Master of the Arsenal. As such, he is also custodian of the Vermilion Pike, a relic of great power that was passed from the Blood Angels to their successor upon full commissioning and initially carried by the chapter master. After his death, the weapon was placed in stasis until the exemplary performance of Tornaeus in the reclaimation of Wertham Prime from the foul clutches of Chaos. As Master of the Angelic Host, Executor Tornaeus was responsible for the full complement of six companies of Adeptus Astartes and established a breach in the traitor's defenses within 48 hours of arrival in-system. He was severely injured when the accompanying Imperial Guard forces turned traitor and the Lord General's Baneblade destroyed his Land Raider. Even greviously injured, Tornaeus charged the Baneblade and tore it apart, rivet by rivet with his powerfist before delivering the traitor general into the Emperor's light.

With his forces encircled by a vast cordon, Tornaeus continued to fight the enemy on both fronts, bogging the traitor guard and the rebel forces with a series of lightning raids on their supply depots and successfully pushing the entrenched defenders from the primary hive. Executor Tornaeus would lead the Sanguinary Phalanx to victory after victory throughout the rest of the campaign, including dealing with the threat of an ork invasion.

For his efforts, the Chapter Master awarded Tornaeus the Vermilion Pike, a weapon of extreme power. Made from long-lost human technology, it can only be activated by genetic markers found in the Blood Angels and their successors. It not only is an incredibly powerful lance for use in close combat, but it also has the capacity to emit a high energy blast akin to plasma.

It is typical for strike forces to deploy for many years, although they typically return immediately after their task is complete to refit and replenish. The exception to this policy is the Fourth company. It has been noted with some curiosity by various officials within the Administratum and the Mechanicus that the fourth company, aboard the battle barge Angelus Redemptio, has been on extended combat duty for the last four centuries, never once returning to the Ajax system for supplies or to replenish their ranks. Instead, small re-supply convoys consisting of a number of strike vessels will ferry supplies and replacements to the Fourth at the request of Executor Alastor, the commanding officer. This is dismissed by the chapter leadership under the auspices that the company is engaged in a prolonged mission and the unique experiences of the Astartes within the Fourth mean that they are the only ones capable of accomplishing the task. Of particular note is also that Executor Alastor is accompanied by two chaplains at any given time, one the second-most senior of the Phalanx, as well as four high-ranking members of the chapter’s librarius. Truly the task set before the Fourth must be incredible.

In addition to the companies, like their Blood Angel brethren, the Sanguinary Phalanx maintains a Sanguinary Guard, the personal bodyguard of the chapter master himself. Led by the one of the Phalanx's most accomplished warriors, Brother Sabaoth, they have been named the "Deimosan" or Dread Warriors for the fury that they bring to bear against the enemies of Mankind. These thirty individuals typically are the very best Astartes in the chapter, selected for their devotion, purity and martial prowess and answer only to the chapter master or his designated representative. They are often individuals who would have made company captains were there an opening and their counsel is called upon by many of the existing chapter leaders. When a company is deemed too great a response, it is often left to a Sanguinary Guard to lead the task force.

Ranks

The various ranks within the Sanguinary Phalanx carry different names, based upon the Chapter's traditions, but they are commensurate with their counterparts in the organizations of their brothers amongst the various other Astartes

Chapter Master – High Judicator

Master of Sanctity – Voice of Truth

Sanguinary High Priest – Custodian of the Grail

Chief Librarian

Company Commander - Executor

Vice-Commander - Strategos

Veteran Sergeant

Sergeant

Initiate

Novice

Battlecry

Cry: “Implacable is the Phalanx!”

Reply: “Ever forth unto victory!”

The Lost Company of Executor Alastor

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hile the name indicates that Executor Alastor and his charges cannot be found, that is not true, for the Phalanx knows exactly where Executor Alastor and the Fourth Company are at any given time. Indeed, it should be noted that no other company within the chapter is watched as much as the Fourth, both for their impressive list of successive victories as for their unique position within the Sanguinary Phalanx. The Fourth has been absent from the Ajax system for nearly four hundred years, pushing deeper and deeper into the unknown regions of the Ultima Segmentum the astropaths aboard the battle barge Angelus Redemptio and is escorts and the occasional resupply vessels their only link back to their battle brothers.

It was upon the cursed world of Ivgodrosil that the Fourth earned their title amongst the brothers of the Phalanx and forced the chapter to hide its darkest secret, far from the prying eyes of the Imperium. Known only to the battle brothers of the chapter and their closest allies amongst the various agencies of the Imperium and the Mechanicus, the truth behind the Fourth could very well damn the entire Chapter should it fall into the wrong hands. The Phalanx bears this hidden shame with a stoic resolve and a relentless pursuit of perfection that can be seen in every aspect of their existence and carry with them a deep humility that is rare amongst the Adeptus Astartes.

Amongst the Phalanx, there is no living battle brother (save two of the revered ancients interred within the dreadnought sarcophagus) that carries as impressive a tally of victories as Executor Alastor. Amongst the Phalanx there is also no battle brother that has a deeper sense of shame nor as great an air of humility as Executor Alastor, for it was the battle brothers under his command that brought to light a terrible truth.

Ivgodrosil was the seventh planet of a prosperous system located to the galactic north of Baal and west of the Ghoul Stars, settled during mankind’s expansion into space during the Dark Age of Technology. With the darkness that came with Old Night, the system was cut off from humanity and left to its own devices, the records of its settlement lost in the archives of history or simply buried so deeply beneath ancient tomes that they cannot be found thousands of years later. Sometime in the latter half of 564.M41, the system was rediscovered by a far-reaching patrol of the Death Spectres and it was quickly discovered that time had not been kind to the system. While the cause is not known, a massive increase in the number of children born with psychic mutation had led to devastation across the entire system. The powers of the untrained minds had run rampant in the hundreds as their emotions fed their psychic talents and caught the attention of the fell intellects lurking within the Warp. Possessions by minor daemons had been but the beginning and as they consumed their hosts, they brought forth their kin, opening the gateway to hell and turning a trickle or warp energy into a raging torrent.

Those who could flee, attempted to return via the ancient star charts that had led them to Ivgodrisil and its sister planets, but the foul entities that were consuming the populace were not ready to release their playthings. Sabotage by possessed individuals crippled countless vessels, weakening their Gellar fields, exposing the crews and navigators to the predators of the Warp, dooming the populace to lives of eternal damnation. It was only with the coming of the Emperor that the warp storms abated and, unbeknownst to the people of Ivgodrisil, the vast intellects of the Warp turned their attentions to other regions of the galaxy.

By the time the Death Spectres rediscovered the system, Ivgodrisil and its sister planets were engaged in open warfare between the descendants of those who had managed to largely escape the corruption of Chaos on the outer planets and those who fed the daemon cults upon Ivgodrisil and the planets of the inner system. Captain Crixus of the Fifth Company immediately went to the aid of the outer planets, while sending a call for help back to the Death Spectres fortress monastery. For months, the 5th Company cleansed the outer planets, one by one, bringing their populations into the light of the Emperor and assisting with the establishment of ever more effective defense forces, meanwhile fighting off the piratical predations of the Chaos cultists and their daemon masters that inhabited the core planets. Eleven months into the undertaking, nine Imperial Guard regiments and a deputation from the Adeptus Sororitas arrived to assist and the invasion of Ivgodrisil was planned.

The fleet established orbit above the planet and easily swept aside the Chaos warships as they were but gunships and light tenders, the remnants of the civilian fleets that had long ago settled the system. Even as they prepared to make landing upon Ivgodrisil, their sensors detected the arrival of a substantial fleet, heralding the arrival of the Sanguinary Phalanx’s 4th Company under the command of Executor Alastor. The request for assistance by their fellow Astartes had not gone unheeded and the relative proximity of the Phalanx battle fleet enabled them to respond in force.

Quickly incorporating themselves into the battle plans, the Sanguinary Phalanx and the Death Spectres began a series of surgical strikes aimed at removing the most powerful of the Chaos cults. Even with their daemonic allies, the pawns of Chaos stood little chance against might of two battle companies of the Emperor’s Astartes and the first two surgical strikes were nearly flawless with Imperial Guard regiments following closely in their wake to secure their gains. However, as the two largest covens were eliminated, the organization of the others failed to deteriorate, instead becoming ever more effective. On the third strike against the mountain fortress of the Sycophant of Skalarn, a sudden spike in psychic energy was detected by the psykers of the Imperial forces. The feedback was crippling and the astropathic choirs on three of the vessels were silenced as the protective devices, prayers and wards failed, blasting the minds of those within into oblivion.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3144/librarius.jpg

As the combined forces of the two chapters breached the defenses of the fortress, an unholy wave of daemons erupted from the gaps. Whirlwinds of claws and flame came forth, cutting down battle brothers and forcing the librarians into desperate attempted to nullify them with their psychic hoods or destroy them with their powers. Even as it seemed the vile beasts of Chaos would gain the upper hand, the Sisters of Battle joined the fight, cleansing the damned with the purity of fire. It was the edge that the space marines needed and they plunged into the depth of the fortress to find a den of horrors awaiting them.

In a chamber that defied reality, constantly shifting and impossibly vast, too vast to be contained within the physical limits of the mountain, the entire population of Ivgodrisil was affixed to the walls, their skin flensed from their bodies and their torsos gaping wide. Their organs were arranged in visceral patterns and all fluids drained to the floor creating a sea of blood that came to the knees. Each body had been suffocated by its own entrails and ritually engraved with forbidden sigils that were painful to look at, inducing nausea, even within the Astartes, but even more damning was the fact that each and every face bore a smile. All of this was taken in at a glance for hands rose from the blood to grasp at the space marines and they were beset upon by a gibbering horde of foul warp xenos.

It was as Executor Alastor fought side-by-side with Captain Crixus that he suddenly was beset by a rage he could not control. A mocking laugh filled his thoughts and he felt his control slipping away. His blood pounded in his ears and he felt his body tense, even as a surge of immense power flooded into every fiber of his being. The laughter continued unabated and he became more and more incensed, striking out and tearing through the daemonic horde as if possessed, quickly leaving Crixus in his wake as he rampaged through the horde. Visions swam before his eyes and he lost the ability to tell what was real from what was not, daemons mixed with the hated marines of the traitor legions. All about him he slew, his blade stopping only before striking his fellow battle brothers until none stood before him and the sea of blood lay strewn with the innumerable corpses of his enemies and yet still the mocking laughter continued.

It was only then that the rage receded and the truth of what had happened lay before his eyes. Even as the warp forms of the daemons dissipated into nothingness, the slaughtered forms of the Death Spectres and the Adeptus Sororitas became more and more visible. He could see the battle brothers under his command shaking their heads as if awakening from a dream and the horror of what the Phalanx had done nearly drove him to madness. He fell to his knees, mired in blood and unleashed a scream filled with the agony of a man who had lost everything that he held dear and still the laughter rang in his ears. At the center of the chamber, atop a throne fashioned from the ribcages of Ivgodrisil’s populace, sat the hulking form of a laughing daemon. Suddenly, every member of the Phalanx that had survived was beside their commander, looking to him for direction in the wake of their slaughter and Alastor knew rage once more. He embraced it this time and felt himself fall into the hate, a wellspring of strength once more surging into his body. He shook as he stood and, with a roar of anger charged the laughing daemon.

Even as his rage took control, Alastor knew that this was different and suddenly he was Alastor no more and upon the damned throne was not some casual daemon, but his brother, Horus Lupercal. Even the daemon sought to take back control of the vision it had visited upon the Astartes of the Sanguinary Phalanx, so too did the legacy of their primarch awaken within their geneseed. Daemons sprang into existence as the daemon prince realized that he had lost control of the visions being seen by Alastor and his battle brothers, but Alastor cut through them with the same ease that his primarch had until he had reached the summit of the throne and stood before Horus. With a cry of grief that echoed the despair his gene father had felt upon the Vengeful Spirit Alastor took the fight to the daemon prince. The two were similarly matched in skill, but the daemon prince was stronger and Alastor took repeated hits that would have felled an Astartes were he not gripped with the Black Rage. After a swift feint, the daemon prince slammed his sword into Alastor’s chest, the blade erupting from his back, but Alastor was beyond mere pain and through a fast dimming world as his life force drained away, he returned the favor, driving his lightning claw up into the chest of the daemon prince and taking to the skies on his jump pack, ripping the chest from the warp creature and banishing it to realm of Chaos. With the daemon prince banished, the chamber began to lose stability and the lesser daemons fell swiftly to the fury of the enraged marines and with a sudden shriek of tortured rock and metal, the fortress collapsed in on itself, burying the 4th Company and its commander.

The official records of the Battle for Ivgodrisil indicate that Executor Alastor sustained grievous wounds, but was recovered, alive, along with fifty seven battle brothers of the 4th Company. Every member of the Adeptus Sororitas and Death Spectres that were on the mission was killed by the daemon prince Esh’aklaor. The planet was deemed to be too great of a moral threat and, once all Imperial forces were recalled into orbit, a sentence of Exterminatus carried out under the authority of Executor Alastor. Geneseed was recovered and returned to the Death Spectres chapter, although they have declared that they will never again fight alongside the Sanguinary Phalanx. There is a standing query amongst the Ordo Hereticus as to the events that occurred upon Ivgodrisil, but as there are no living witnesses, the incident remains unresolved. All attempts to contact the 4th Company, with the assistance of the Sanguinary Phalanx, have proven to be unsuccessful.

The aftermath of the Ivgodrisil Intervention forever haunts the Sanguinary Phalanx as the Black Rage’s sudden manifestation at the hands of Esh’aklaor triggered a psychic backlash felt by the entire chapter and ever increasing numbers of battle brothers are transferred from their companies to the Fourth as “reinforcements.”

[CantonWC]

Hi

 

I will try to help.

 

Origins

 

Will you please consider cutting down your origins? It is literally over half of your IA and I don't see where it goes. I just cannot get through it all, just skimmed as best as I could.

 

If you want good narrative-driven Chapter, try looking at Warlords in the Librarium, link at the top of the forum. The narrative should go somewhere, lead up to a climax or moment of truth, and be in some way emblematic to the nature of the Chapter or directly shaping the character of the Chapter.

 

Cut down on Homeworld, anything not relevant to the character of the Chapter should be dropped.

 

Nice chart by the way, I might ask for your assistance if I make a chart of my own.

 

The Executor Alastor story arc seems pretty interesting, could form the entire basis for the Chapter. So it seems like you have two things going on, the Orks and this encounter with Chaos. I would drop one or the other, probably the Orks and focus exclusively on this strange incident with the daemon.

[Captain Forcystus]

There is alot of info there, which is both good and bad. On one hand it shows you put alot into it and your really into it, unfortuneately it has a sort of TL,DR (Too long, didnt read) syndrome. That said im sure there is a place for all of that extra info somewhere.

 

And much like the above dude I like the chart, I may be asking for tips on making a similar one sometime.

 

On a final note, just what has kept the infamous Curse of Sanguinus from afflicting the chapter? That is a pretty big deal and no other chapter else has managed to avoid it as far as I can remember

[exetus]

First of all, thanks a lot for taking the time to go through this, both of you!

 

I'll address some of the other issues later, but as the HUGE canon no-no, they largely were following whatever course the Lamenters were following with suppressing the Black Rage/Red Thirst. What I was trying to write in/imply is that it only took a single encounter with a powerful Chaos entity to trigger that latent defect, thus the story of Executor Alastor and his lost company. The entire company was afflicted and the Black Rage is having an increasingly large impact upon the chapter as "resources" continue to be funneled to the chapter. Unlike most of the sons of Sanguinius, where only a few members tend to fall to the Black Rage before a battle, not only was a whole company afflicted, but their reinforcements are actually other battle brothers who are shipped to them. That's why the 4th Company is on their extended and seemingly interminable combat deployment. The Rage is not only not gone, but it has far reaching affects for the entire Chapter , but they hide the fact that it exists from EVERYONE except for a select few extremely trusted individuals within various other organizations.

 

While not actually included in this bit, the rules for Executor Alastor are essentially the same rules as for Astorath, save a few of small changes that are restrictions I have placed upon myself. By choosing Alastor, like Astorath, the 0-1 limit of Death Company is removed. Unlike Astorath, Alastor forces me to match any "Troops" selection with a Death Company unit selection, guaranteeing that I will have no less than two DC units per game. This is to encourage a full Death Company army list. The second change is that if I take Alastor, I MUST take a librarian as his "influencer." Not only is there a chance that units fall to the Rage like Astorath on a roll of 3 or less, but if the librarian dies, then it's automatic and EVERY unit in the army with the Red Thirst rule descends into madness.

 

CantonWC, the reason for the two arcs were to show that:

1. ...the Phalanx aren't really anything special as far as Space Marines go. They were created to go play on the Fringe and that's what they do.

2. ...they are not only afflicted by the Black Rage/Red Thirst, and have been for 400 years, but it has caused the loss of an entire company which receives steady reinforcements and drains the Chapter's manpower resources.

[CantonWC]

I'll address some of the other issues later, but as the HUGE canon no-no, they largely were following whatever course the Lamenters were following with suppressing the Black Rage/Red Thirst. What I was trying to write in/imply is that it only took a single encounter with a powerful Chaos entity to trigger that latent defect, thus the story of Executor Alastor and his lost company. The entire company was afflicted and the Black Rage is having an increasingly large impact upon the chapter as "resources" continue to be funneled to the chapter. Unlike most of the sons of Sanguinius, where only a few members tend to fall to the Black Rage before a battle, not only was a whole company afflicted, but their reinforcements are actually other battle brothers who are shipped to them. That's why the 4th Company is on their extended and seemingly interminable combat deployment. The Rage is not only not gone, but it has far reaching affects for the entire Chapter , but they hide the fact that it exists from EVERYONE except for a select few extremely trusted individuals within various other organizations.

 

This is pretty interesting. An interesting spin on the Curse.

 

Um, don't try to directly match up rules with fluff. It tends to cause problems more than anything else.

 

1. ...the Phalanx aren't really anything special as far as Space Marines go. They were created to go play on the Fringe and that's what they do.

 

Ugh, you don't have to write a text block taking up over half your IA to tell me this. Like I said... you should only write a battle if it is important to the history or character of your Chapter in some way. Another good example is the Scions of Dorn in the Liber Honouros link. They took part in some early battles that directly shaped their character and the way they interact with the Inquisition.

 

If your aim is to show a Chapter that doesn't take part in some events of earth-shattering import... then no need to write up this enormous text block in the Origins. I can infer it well enough.

[Marshal Rohr]

The name is a little awkward.

 

How would he introduce himself?

 

I am a Bloody Battle Formation?

[exetus]

Marshal2, that's a good point... I never thought about that. I always figured that, as a Blood Angel descendant (since they are all so seemingly formal except for the Fleash Tearers), he would introduce himself as Brother/Sergeant/Executor/Judicator "X" of the Sanguinary Phalanx. As for saying, "I am a Blood Angel," or the like, I would have just figured, "I am a Phalanx Marine."

[Arkangilos]

I think the name is cool, and I think they would say it like, "I am a brother from the Blood Phalanx."

Also, could you work your name into your battle tactics?

[exetus]

Ok, so I've taken a number of your suggestions to heart and modified my IA significantly.

 

The origins have been greatly cut down. Maybe I'll find somewhere for the rest later.

 

The homeworld description has also been trimmed.

 

I have included three additional battles that should show some character of the Chapter.

 

 

New Questions, Comments and Criticisms welcome! Thanks!

[NightrawenII]

Do you know what is the problem?

 

The Lamenters don't have any successor...

[exetus]

They're not a successor of the Lamenters. They are a Blood Angels successor; it says that within the first four lines.

[NightrawenII]

Why do they aren't affected by Black Rage or Red Thirst?

 

Btw, the 21th "Cursed" Founding was considered epic fail by the Imperium.

[exetus]

Did you even read this? Have you read any of the comments by the other members? I'm not asking this because I'm trying to be hostile, but you appear to be picking at this without reading ANY of the feedback or responses.

 

They ARE affected by both the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. They only CLAIM that they are not affected thusly. That was the entire point of "The Lost Company of Executor Alastor" and the accompanying message to the Chapter Leadership by one of the librarians accompanying the 4th Company. In effect, the Phalanx's Death Company is "hidden" as a company on extended deployment where it is unlikely that they will run into organizations that would question them. Their reinforcements are the brothers that have fallen to the Black Rage who are put into stasis for the duration of their travels and then added to a rampaging 4th Company. This is ALL alluded to under "Doctrine" and then followed up with the recounting of Alastor's "Lost" Company.

 

The 21st Founding WAS considered an "Epic Fail" by the Imperium but not until AFTER later foundings. Indeed, some of the chapters have continued on successfully. The Minotaurs were considered successful as of the Badab incident. The Lamenters have had bad luck and a recent occurrence of the Black Rage/Red Thirst. By your simple standards, there should have been NO OTHER foundings after the 21st because it was cursed. Well, there have been 26 Foundings so far and Blood Angels geneseed is considered optimal in all respects save the suspect taint of the Rage/Thirst.

[NightrawenII]

They ARE affected by both the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. They only CLAIM that they are not affected thusly. That was the entire point of "The Lost Company of Executor Alastor" and the accompanying message to the Chapter Leadership by one of the librarians accompanying the 4th Company. In effect, the Phalanx's Death Company is "hidden" as a company on extended deployment where it is unlikely that they will run into organizations that would question them. Their reinforcements are the brothers that have fallen to the Black Rage who are put into stasis for the duration of their travels and then added to a rampaging 4th Company. This is ALL alluded to under "Doctrine" and then followed up with the recounting of Alastor's "Lost" Company.

It is under Organisation... :cuss

Okey, wrong choice of time... Why did the weren't affected by the Black Rage and/or Red Thirst from the start?

 

The 21st Founding WAS considered an "Epic Fail" by the Imperium but not until AFTER later foundings. Indeed, some of the chapters have continued on successfully. The Minotaurs were considered successful as of the Badab incident. The Lamenters have had bad luck and a recent occurrence of the Black Rage/Red Thirst. By your simple standards, there should have been NO OTHER foundings after the 21st because it was cursed. Well, there have been 26 Foundings so far and Blood Angels geneseed is considered optimal in all respects save the suspect taint of the Rage/Thirst.

Apparently, you don't know WHAT was the cause of the Curse of 21th Founding, don't you? It was the tampering with Gene-seed... and what I understand from this article, you are suggesting repetition of the SAME mistake right after it has been proven to be wrong... with disastrous after effects.

 

I'm sorry, but the existence of your Chapter is illogical from the start.

[Arkangilos]

Not really. The cause was not just the tampering, but was that Fabious Bile found out about it, making them have to cut it short. And most (not all) of the problem with the cursed founding was just a long string of bad luck. Maybe the administration decided to try one more time. Maybe they believed that if Fabious Bile did not find out, it might just work. So what did they do? They tried altering the BA gene-seed one more time to see if it would work. Did it? Obviously not. Are they still loyal space marines? Duh.

So, oh God of the Fluff, just remember, the world and galaxy does not follow a single event, and there is NOTHING in the universe of 40k to say that they did not try it one more time.

[exetus]

Okey, wrong choice of time... Why did the weren't affected by the Black Rage and/or Red Thirst from the start?

 

Like the Lamenters, a similar but not identical tampering of the geneseed led to the delayed onset of the Rage/Thirst. They don't start with the degenerated geneseed when they start new chapters, either, but with the repositories. The rate of decay is also different in all of the Blood Angels successors and, in some cases, the Blood Angels. Dante is over 1,000 years old and has not succumbed. One of the other chapters doesn't even maintain a Death Company, perhaps the Blood Drinkers or Angels Sanguine, I can't remember off the top of my head. It took the Lamenters from M36 to M41 to suddenly suffer from the curse. The Flesh Tearers are much more accelerated than any of the other Successors. There is no set timeframe for affliction and, indeed, it could be some trigger.

 

Apparently, you don't know WHAT was the cause of the Curse of 21th Founding, don't you? It was the tampering with Gene-seed... and what I understand from this article, you are suggesting repetition of the SAME mistake right after it has been proven to be wrong... with disastrous after effects.

 

I'm sorry, but the existence of your Chapter is illogical from the start.

 

What do you mean, I don't know what caused the "Curse" of the 21st? Of course I know that. They are, however, referred to as the "Cursed Founding" because they have seemingly attracted a crap-ton of bad luck, be it insurrection, mutation or simple ill-fatedness.

 

You still have not countered with a timeline of when "ALL" of these chapters suddenly went deviant. The Flame Falcons were within a century, but it wasn't for nearly 4,000 years that the Lamenters were considered unsuccesful (and only Blood Angels know about that anyhow). The Fire Hawks disappeared AFTER the Badab uprising, which was thousands of years later. It has taken nearly 5,000 years for the Inquisition to finally get pissed at the Black Dragons. The Sons of Antaeus keep running around and fighting loyally. The Minotaurs are a bit savage, but they seem to be doing just fine as of Badab, as well. Indeed, a number of the created Chapters are still out and about and loyal. If you can show me anywhere that ALL of the Chapters are considered a failure, please tell me. There are deviancies, yes, but many of the Chapters exhibit traits that would suggest lest than total purity.

 

If you can cite more than ten official Chapters that were considered failures of the 21st Founding (largest since the Second, by the way), I will be surprised. If you can not only show me ten Chapters that failed, but that also failed within 1,000-1,500 years (a rough spanning of time from 21st to 22nd Founding), I will concede defeat. Until then, the apparent success with some of the Chapters would no doubt lead to continued experimentation on the seemingly successful changes.

 

Retrospect is crazy. Religion in the Imperium was a "failure" at the time of the Great Crusade and yet Lorgar would be proven right, in the end. I wonder how many of the original Chaos Marines or Bjorn the Fell-Handed feel about that one. Lorgar turning to Chaos because he worshipped the Emperor? Ironic.

[NightrawenII]

Okey, wrong choice of time... Why did the weren't affected by the Black Rage and/or Red Thirst from the start?

 

Like the Lamenters, a similar but not identical tampering of the geneseed led to the delayed onset of the Rage/Thirst. They don't start with the degenerated geneseed when they start new chapters, either, but with the repositories. The rate of decay is also different in all of the Blood Angels successors and, in some cases, the Blood Angels. Dante is over 1,000 years old and has not succumbed. One of the other chapters doesn't even maintain a Death Company, perhaps the Blood Drinkers or Angels Sanguine, I can't remember off the top of my head. It took the Lamenters from M36 to M41 to suddenly suffer from the curse. The Flesh Tearers are much more accelerated than any of the other Successors. There is no set timeframe for affliction and, indeed, it could be some trigger.

 

Apparently, you don't know WHAT was the cause of the Curse of 21th Founding, don't you? It was the tampering with Gene-seed... and what I understand from this article, you are suggesting repetition of the SAME mistake right after it has been proven to be wrong... with disastrous after effects.

 

I'm sorry, but the existence of your Chapter is illogical from the start.

 

What do you mean, I don't know what caused the "Curse" of the 21st? Of course I know that. They are, however, referred to as the "Cursed Founding" because they have seemingly attracted a crap-ton of bad luck, be it insurrection, mutation or simple ill-fatedness.

 

You still have not countered with a timeline of when "ALL" of these chapters suddenly went deviant. The Flame Falcons were within a century, but it wasn't for nearly 4,000 years that the Lamenters were considered unsuccesful (and only Blood Angels know about that anyhow). The Fire Hawks disappeared AFTER the Badab uprising, which was thousands of years later. It has taken nearly 5,000 years for the Inquisition to finally get pissed at the Black Dragons. The Sons of Antaeus keep running around and fighting loyally. The Minotaurs are a bit savage, but they seem to be doing just fine as of Badab, as well. Indeed, a number of the created Chapters are still out and about and loyal. If you can show me anywhere that ALL of the Chapters are considered a failure, please tell me. There are deviancies, yes, but many of the Chapters exhibit traits that would suggest lest than total purity.

 

If you can cite more than ten official Chapters that were considered failures of the 21st Founding (largest since the Second, by the way), I will be surprised. If you can not only show me ten Chapters that failed, but that also failed within 1,000-1,500 years (a rough spanning of time from 21st to 22nd Founding), I will concede defeat. Until then, the apparent success with some of the Chapters would no doubt lead to continued experimentation on the seemingly successful changes.

 

Retrospect is crazy. Religion in the Imperium was a "failure" at the time of the Great Crusade and yet Lorgar would be proven right, in the end. I wonder how many of the original Chaos Marines or Bjorn the Fell-Handed feel about that one. Lorgar turning to Chaos because he worshipped the Emperor? Ironic.

I'm sorry, but I call strawman here. The 21th Founding IS called 'Cursed' because it was total failure and disaster, just read the entry in the codex. IF you think, the HLoT will risk the same result then fine, but I'm not convinced at all.

[Riconas]

From what I've read of your IA so far, I like it. It's a bit long for me to read in one sitting, but I'll get through it eventually. :lol: I did notice that you chose not only to use the same gene-seed as myself (from the Blood Angels), but also the same Founding (the 22nd). I have thus edited my Origins section to reflect that more than one Successor was created from the gene-seed during this Founding, though I have chosen not to include the part about additional tampering of the gene-seed. I'm not sure why yet, but I figure that the simple omission of this detail will leave enough vagueness that, while not specifically mentioned, it's still possible that this tampering took place, though perhaps not with the sample used for my Chapter (perhaps they experimented with using a sample not tampered with since the previous Founding for one Chapter, and with a sample subjected to more tampering and experimentation for another Chapter). I would think it possible for them to try different variations in further attempts to correct the flaws in the gene-seed, thus resulting in varying effects in different Chapters.

 

I think it also helps to give credibility to DIY Chapters if they are at least referenced by IA of other DIY Chapters that may have had a shared involvement in some circumstance, e.g both being created from the same gene-seed during the same Founding. :)

[exetus]

Ooh, let me talk about the latest Codex and input that entry! I think it goes something like this:

The Cursed Founding

The Twenty First Founding was the largest since the Second Founding. It took place in the 36th Millennium sometime before the Dark Age of Apostasy, a time of civil war which almost destroyed the Imperium. New Chapters were dogged by bad luck right fom the start. Several disappeared mysteriously whilst in action or voyaging through Warpsace.

 

Surviving Chapters of the founding are affected by spontaneous genetic mutation of their gene-seed. As a result these Chapters have gradually dwindled in size as their inability to raise and induct recruits means that casualties cannot be replaced. Worse still, some have developed genetic idosyncrasies, mutations that strain the tolerance of the Inquisition and threaten the Chapter's survival.

 

Few chapters have suffered as ignominious an end as the Flame Falcons, whose spontaneous and extreme phsyical corruption turned them into a race no longer human nor sane. Eventually the entire Chapter was declared Excommunicate and driven from its home world of Lethe by the Grey Knights. Surviving brotherhoods remember the Flame Falcons with a mix of sorrow and shame, and pray that they will not share the same fate.

p. 9, Codex: Space Marines

 

Well, looking at that entry, I see nothing that so explicitly says "EPIC FAILURE!" I further counter that by the entries in Imperial Armour 9 and 10 that detail the Minotaurs, Lamenters and Fire Hawks, three of the known Chapters. It's way more evident to me that the "Cursed Founding" name comes from the fact that a number of the Chapters met some type of demise that was more ill-fated than anything (this includes horrendous genetic mutation and mental instability, etc.). Tampering with your genetic code isn't likely to get you lost in the Warp.

Known defects:

Fire Hawks - Ignoring the fact that they eventually get lost on the way to Crow's World and become the Legion of the Damned, they had minor deviancies of their genetic stock. I quote:

"Because of this, it is known to be the case that several other Space Marine Chapters consider the Fire Hawks as darkly fated, over-prideful and wanting in brotherhood with their fellow Astartes; some going so far as to suggest that they are tainted by some flaw in the Chapter's soul or gene-seed, though none would gainsay their effectiveness in battle." p. 66, Imperial Armour Volume Nine, The Badab War - Part One

 

Minotaurs - The Minotaurs are less "pure" than the Fire Hawks, but retain the high esteem of the HLoT. The evidence is more evident here, but still neither damning nor "Epic Failure."

"Such fragmentary records that now remain show the Chapter's gene-seed branded as 'Chimeric'. This, as blasphemous as it may now seem, may have indicated that its sources were either from a prohibited source, mixed, adulterated or somehow tampered with genetically during its creation. Secret experimentation of this kind is known to have been carried out on a number of the scions of the 21st Founding, and such annotations show that the Minotaurs were likely among those tampered with in some way. The folly of such hubris by the Magos Biologis of the time was to prove the undoing of many of the Chapters birthed by the 21st Founding, as they succumbed either to spiralling psychological flaws, or worse, monstrous genetic deviation, leading to their disbandment or destruction in the following millennia. It is likely that the Minotaurs' barely controlled fury and their desire to shun those they should have called comrade was a result of some particular curse laid on them in their blood, but whether their affliction mastered them or they mastered it remains unknown." p. 104, Imperial Armour Volume Ten, The Badab War - Part Two

 

In fact, if you read that statement, not ALL of the Chapters were tampered with. "Undoing of many" does not say or even imply "all".

 

Lamenters - They are known Blood Angels successors now and are acknowledged to have finally shown some evidence of the Black Rage and Red Thirst, going so far as having a Death Company by the time of the Badab War. So from M36 to M41 (5,000 years) it seems that the attempt to cure/mollify the Sanguinius Flaw was a success, only to later emerge with a vengeance. I can actually find an argument to support YOURS in this quote:

"Given this and the fall from grace of many of the 21st Founding's issue, the experimental procedures that created the Lamenters from the Blood Angels' gene-stock were not repeated..." p. 108, Imperial Armour Volume Nine, The Badab War - Part One

 

But since Warhammer 40,000 is all about the details, I never said that they were created in the same manner, only in a similar one, which is imminently reasonable considering that the Blood Angels have been searching for a cure since the discovery of "The Flaw". With the desperation shown by one of the Progenitor Legions, it not only seems possible, but also probable, that they would have jumped at the chance for success that the Lamenters exhibited. Since it took nearly 5,000 years for the Flaw to manifest itself with the Lamenters, why would they not support a means to control it 3,500 shy of when it would ultimately become a lost cause?

[Arkangilos]

BAM!

 

Also, as long as I can remember the Lamenters were BA successors.

[exetus]

Rumors of the Lamenters being Blood Angels successors began years ago, but it is only with the new codex, the Imperial Armour books and the "canon?" of James Swallow's Blood Angels books that they've finally been confirmed to be Blood Angels successors. Prior to the newest codex, it was only supposition and guesswork.

[Heru]

I'll bite, using the book you yourself have quoted:

 

The various dark ends that have befallen many of this Founding's Chapters have entered it into the lore of the Inquisition and the Space Marines alike as the so-called "Cursed Founding", and with good reason, and many now consider those Chapters created under its auspices as tainted from their very birth. Although the Lamenters were among those of the Founding who had been spared a devolution into something no longer human or sane, its mark was still upon them in the eyes of their fellow Space Marines, many of whom grew to shun the Chapter, regardless of their undoubted loyality to the Imperium and noble defence of its people. The Lamenters chose to take this opprobrium with noble forbearance. As matters within the Imperium worsened in early M.37, the Lamenters departed to the Imperium's fringes rather than risk internecine conflict at a time when the more wayward and corrupt members of the 21st Founding and other dissident forces were being exterminated in a series of bloody wars and purges.

 

Please note is that the 23rd Founding (the one after the 22nd - duh!) was in "late M37 - early M38" (according to the IA9&10 too). So considering that the 21st was in M36, we are sort of looking at the 22nd being right smack bang in the period of 21st Foundling purges. Sure it might have been mid to late M36 but it was those years that led up to the purges (so allot of nasty 21st Foundling related stuff must of happened during that period for that to jump into extermination).

 

 

Honestly I think your Chapter would be stronger as a 20th Foundling or earlier (earlier is better in my opinion). We know for a fact that the 21st Founding was when the Imperium's darker side itself (we are after all talking about secret labs here) tried to fix the Blood Angels geneseed (after finding out about the BA's deficiencies and filing the "no we won't use your broken Geneseed anymore" paperwork), but we also know the Blood Angels and their progeny themselves have been trying to fix the problems since they first appeared.

[Riconas]

I would personally think that, since nothing that happened to the Lamenters was connected to their gene-seed (unless having bad luck was the result of genetic modification), and since the only real result of the genetic modification done to the Blood Angels gene-seed was the delayed onset of the Flaw (which can only be considered a positive), even though it wasn't the cure it was thought to be for a long time, it was still an improvement upon the "original" flawed gene-seed.

 

Also, something I've noticed is that timelines within the 40K universe seem to vary and fluctuate a bit, depending on the source. This could be attributed to something as simple as miscommunication, or perhaps even to differences in timekeeping and data recording. Often it's due to creative license taken by the authors.

 

At any rate, I don't think it's wholly unbelievable (at least to everyone) that the Lamenters were seen as something of a success, regardless of their ill-fatedness, and that the modifications that the gene-seed underwent during the 21st Founding might possibly have yielded an actual cure for the Flaw, had not the experiments been ceased due to Fabius Bile being alerted. This would seem to be sufficient argument that continued modification might actually yield results, which would lead not only to the gene-seed being used again, but also to continued experiments on that particular gene-seed.

[Arkangilos]

I concur. I believe this chapter seems fairly plausible, and I can believe it.

[NightrawenII]

Well, looking at that entry, I see nothing that so explicitly says "EPIC FAILURE!"

Wait, you are saying that this:

"Surviving Chapters of the founding are affected by spontaneous genetic mutation of their gene-seed. As a result these Chapters have gradually dwindled in size as their inability to raise and induct recruits means that casualties cannot be replaced. Worse still, some have developed genetic idosyncrasies, mutations that strain the tolerance of the Inquisition and threaten the Chapter's survival."

... was not epic failure?? The largest Founding since 2nd and vast majority of Chapters created then has been turned into nothing because of genetic mutations...